Villa Based Ride
19 March 2023
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
2 March 2023
Rebecca (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Beautiful riding location with top quality horses | The riding was of an excellent standard - a nice combination of fast-paced gallops and relaxed, scenic walks. The horses were well-cared for and Rachel knows a lovely story about each one. They really enjoy their jobs - the horses are lively, full of energy, fit and not at all for novice riders. Perfect for those with more experience. The scenery and the riding tracks in the national park are some of the most beautiful I have had the pleasure of being on.
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
2 March 2023
David who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. An excellent trip: good people, good horses, good weather and good riding. | Excellent
Villa Based Ride
19 February 2023
Lisa (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Relaxing environment, great horses and food - a lovely holiday! | The horses were fantastic and Rachel did a great job of choosing appropriate horses for each rider and type of terrain. She also made a good decision to change the itinerary slightly due to wind. The guides were friendly, and the riding was all around very enjoyable.
Villa Based Ride
19 February 2023
Margaret who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic | Excellent
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
16 February 2023
Samia who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic! | The ride was fantastic! I love the horse that I rode during my three days. The scenery was great, the guides Jose and Roberto were great, Jose know very well all the horses and Rachel chose the perfect horse for me. The ride on the beach was a dream come true for me! The places we stopped for lunch were very good. the communal room at Los Alamos in the morning for our breakfast and in the evening for the dinner next to the fireplace was perfect. Andrew, Jack, and Rhiannon were great hosts.
The accommodation was perfect, the horses were well looked after and the atmosphere was very friendly. [In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your lovely feedback. We are so pleased you enjoyed your holiday.]
Villa Based Ride
29 January 2023
Rachel who has been on 22 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous horses, hosts and setting | The skill they have in matching each rider to a horse that suits their needs and wishes always amazes me. 100% success rate yet again, we all had the perfect mix.
Christmas Week
27 December 2022
Rosemary who has been on 41 In The Saddle rides. The usual! Relaxing riding with lovely canters and gallops on great horses! | My sixth time at Los A - my 4th at Christmas - albeit over a period of 20 years. So I know what to expect! Very friendly and relaxed. Approx 3-4 hours riding per day, on lovely horses, much of it quite leisurely, but with several canters and the occasional gallop on the tracks/fire breaks in the forest, and on other days maybe an early start to go down to the beach to catch the tide for exhilarating canters and gallops at the water's edge. A break for lunch and then a short ride home. Plenty of time to chill before supper. Perfect relaxing holiday break.
Villa Based Ride
27 November 2022
Judith who has been on 13 In The Saddle rides. Hospitality professionals | My knees would always appreciate a bit of trotting.
Villa Based Ride
20 November 2022
Rachel who has been on 22 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous in every regard | Rachel has a genuine gift for matching riders with the right horse for them, the whole group were perfectly matched, no easy task. I rode Paloma and Galeno this time and they were absolutely perfect for me, loved them!!!
Jose and Roberto look after you on the ride, and check that all are happy and there is a great mix of gentle pottering around with some lovely fast riding mixed in.
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
17 November 2022
Tessa who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Relaxing autumn short break | Good
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
17 November 2022
Soraya who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Relaxing and fun short break | Excellent
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
17 November 2022
Barbara who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. BM-happy rider | Everything was excellent : people, food, horses, weather- despite very scary forecast (they were wrong!).
However I wouldn't mind longer hours in the saddle and more canters/gallops, maybe 2 rides per day? 😉
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
10 November 2022
Samantha who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Great Holiday | Excellent
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
10 November 2022
Jessica (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Excellent! | The holiday far exceeded my expectations. The location, people and horses were all incredible.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback. We are so pleased to hear how much you enjoyed riding at Los Alamos.]
Villa Based Ride
30 October 2022
Susan who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. The time of my life (part 2) | My first trip to Los Alamos was in April 2022. I adored it so much that as soon as I returned home I booked again for May 2023. However, after a few weeks at home I decided that I couldn't possibly wait until May, so I booked this October trip as well.
This time I was travelling on my own and I didn't know any of the other guests beforehand. I knew as soon as we met at Malaga airport, for our transfer to Los Alamos, that we would all get on well. Thank you ladies - you were tremendous company.
The October weather was extremely kind. It was hot and sunny every day. One day, as the forecast was for a temperature of 33 degrees, we set off riding at 7:30 a.m. It was still dark and we started our ride under a starlit sky - it was magical. We rode through the pine forest for about an hour and reached the beach as the sun was appearing over the horizon. The riding on the beach was breathtaking. Canters and flat out gallops on the most well behaved horses. They don't go until you tell them to and they stop with the slightest touch on the reins. The other rides were just as good, particularly the firebreak gallops in the forest where you are permitted to overtake (usually you have to canter and gallop in single file).
I was fortunate to ride 3 different horses during my stay, all of them were delightful. However, Olivera stole my heart. She was fast and brave - the most gorgeous Andalucian grey mare. Rachel is very intuitive and is able to match the horses to the riders with ease.
Our guides, Jose and Roberto, were utterly professional. Very safety conscious and always checking that we were happy and had no concerns.
[Abbie from In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your feedback. We're so glad that you had such a wonderful return visit to Los Alamos].
Villa Based Ride
23 October 2022
Leslie Ann Hesse who has been on 23 In The Saddle rides. Exhilarating and relaxing! | Excellent
Villa Based Ride
23 October 2022
Sandra who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Los Alamos 16-23 October 2022 | Focus on safety. Consistently good horses that are doing well. I got the opportunity to test four horses during the week.
Beautiful landscape to ride in - good balance between speed and slower pace.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback :-)]
Villa Based Ride
23 October 2022
Astrid who has been on 37 In The Saddle rides. Perfect! - as always | Nice and strong horses that looks happy.
Villa Based Ride
23 October 2022
Synnove who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. I am very happy with the well kept horses which are perfectly fit for beach rides and fire break runs
Villa Based Ride
23 October 2022
Ingrid who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Los Alamos | Excellent
Villa Based Ride
23 October 2022
Anne who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. A complete riding holiday | No comments, everything satisfying.
Villa Based Ride
16 October 2022
Karen who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Very good | The riding and the horses were fantastic. I don't think I've ever ridden such good horses before.
Villa Based Ride
2 October 2022
Sarah who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Outstanding. | Horses were superbly looked after. Rachel had great insight and diplomacy, with all the riders. Unusually we were allowed to gallop on the beach day 1. (We only found out after they normally assess you first but seemed happy w us after we said we hunted regularly). There was not a single horse that misbehaved or put a foot out of line at any point in the week. Fantastic ratio of horses to riders to ensure adequate rest time between work. They all knew their job and are a great testament to Rachels investment into training over a long period. They were all well shod, sound and a delight to ride. I was given three greys through the week.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback, we are so pleased to hear you enjoyed your holiday at Los Alamos.]
Villa Based Ride
2 October 2022
Claire who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Beach and Forest riding | Definitely met expectations
Horse operation was excellent
Villa Based Ride
25 September 2022
Anita who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. 5 Star | Absolutely love the horses the wonderful people that look after us, the amazing food, all round fantastic.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for taking the time to leave us your feedback. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed Los Alamos.]
Villa Based Ride
11 September 2022
Angela (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Absolutely Fabulous Holiday!!! | I had the most fabulous holiday at Los Alamos from the 4-11 September.
From arriving at Gibraltar airport, everything went so smoothly from the outset as Andrew was already there waiting with transport. Spot on throughout!!!
Andrew and Rhiannon are wonderful hosts , as are the rest of the family, Rachel, Jack, Denisa and, the one and only Derek!!! The food was lovely and the open bar (non-alcoholic or otherwise) was great!!! The plentiful Rioja was very good!!!
As for the riding and the horses well, it was everything I expected, hoped for and more!!!
My horse for the week was a stunning PRE called Galeno…I absolutely loved him and as he was classically trained, I had a great time with all the moves in between the canters and gallops.
There’s a lot of walking but, that’s essentially down to the soft ground/sand but, the forest, firebreak and beach gallops were fantastic, absolutely fantastic!!! I didn’t want the holiday to end.
The horses are so incredibly fit and well behaved…they certainly know their job too. They work so very hard…they’re all amazing and a real credit!!!
Thank you so much Galeno and also the ride leaders, Jose and Roberto…they were fabulous and great fun!!!
I’ve got wonderful lifelong memories and will definitely be back next year, maybe even twice, if they’ll have me.
All the other guests were really lovely people and all rode well. I’ve also got some wonderful full action photos of my beach gallops and they are so getting framed and going pride of place in my house!!!
Thank you also to Lois at In The Saddle for her knowledge and experience and a seamless booking throughout, as well as the lovely chats too.
All in all….11 out of 10 and, I’ll see you at Los Alamos next year ….I really hope to ride Galeno again and, on his day off, hopefully either Ruvia or Olivero.
No wonder Los Alamos is so popular…they’ve provide fabulous holidays and horses and roll on my next visit!!! Thank you!!!
A couple of tips:-
1) Take ear plugs as the dogs, cockerels and other animals nearby are often nocturnal and noisy. There’s two very early morning calls for the beach riding.
2) I totally recommend flying into Gibraltar…it’s seamless and fast!!! It’s also smaller and much more personal.
Example:-
EasyJet take off from Manchester bang on time at 06.05. I landed in Gibraltar bang on time at 10.10am.
Plane fully offloaded (including luggage) by 10.25am. By 10.30am, I’d already negotiated passport control, had my luggage and was with Andrew. Absolutely unbelievable and the quickest airport run through ever and, I’ve travelled a lot in my life. Thank you Gibraltar airport.
I just wish my week hadn’t flown by so fast!!! Thank you again Andrew, Rhiannon, Jack, Denisa and Derek and, the INCOMPARABLE GALENO!!!
Villa Based Ride
4 September 2022
Katherine who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous horses, stunning scenary and great hospitality | I visited Los Alamos with my daughter and good friends. Los Alamos holds a special place in our hearts and memories of a very dear friend.
We had a wonderful week and Rachel as always matched us to suitable horses. I rode Gordi and Hercules who were both absolute gentleman but also fast and fun rides.
The scenary as you ride through the forest, along the coast and on the huge beach is stunning. Much of the riding is at a steady pace so you can take it all in but there are also some very fast and exhilarating gallops. Cantering and galloping through the forest in darkness to get to the beach for sunset was an amazing experience!
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. We are so pleased to hear you enjoyed your return to Los Alamos.]
Villa Based Ride
4 September 2022
Karon who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Didn’t want to come home | The accommodation was lovely very comfortable and you are made to feel very welcome. The food was amazing, couldn’t fit into one of my dresses by the end of the week! How Rachel matches you with a horse is incredible just from a small informal chat. The riding is fast but you feel so safe on the horses as they know their job. The scenery is beautiful and everyday you see something new. Will be back for sure.
Villa Based Ride
4 September 2022
Julie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Truly Magical | The guides knew the terrain so well, they made every ride magical - the scenery was breathtaking, riding on the beaches and through the National Park was idyllic.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: We are so pleased you enjoyed your time at Los Alamos, thank you for leaving us feedback.]
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
18 August 2022
Kay (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) We couldn't have wished for a more perfect holiday! | The rides through beautiful scenery and on the beach were very well organised and the horses were well behaved. The faster paces were always explained and everyone was given an opportunity to ask questions if needed. All of the leaders were experienced, friendly, professional and a pleasure to ride with.
Short Break - Sunday to Thursday
18 August 2022
Rebecca who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Incredible riding holiday at Los Alamos | This was our second time staying at Los Alamos and it didn't disappoint. We had incredible horses and rode through some wonderful terrain. The amazing Los Alamos team were fabulous! Comfy beds, great food, lovely wine and we were very well looked after. We cannot wait to return.
Many thanks Becky, Sally and Kaye
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback and we are so pleased you enjoyed your return to Los Alamos.]
Vivien who has been on 36 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful | Loved the riding. Polly and Galeno were on best form.